Tommy Kirk (Thomas Harvey Kirk)

Photos with Tommy Kirk

Biography

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Scrappy Kentucky-born Tommy Kirk, who was born on December 10, 1941, became synonymous with everything clean and fun Disney Entertainment prescribed to in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Moving to California as an infant, it was ignited at the age of 13 years when he was discovered by talent agents performing with Will Rogers Jr. and Bobby Driscoll in a production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" at the Pasadena Playhouse. The freshly-scrubbed All-American kid was swiftly brought to the attention of mogul Walt Disney who signed him to a long-term contract. Read more...In 1964 the bubble completely burst when the Disney factory found out 23-year-old Tommy was having improper relations with a male teenager. The studio, out of protection, was forced to release him from his contract (but not after rehiring him once more to finish a "Merlin Jones" movie sequel The Monkey's Uncle (1965)).

It was downhill from there. Fired from his role in the John Wayne western The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Tommy tried to avidly pursue work in teen-oriented movies. Promising jobs in competent fun-in-the-sand fluff like Pajama Party (1964) and It's a Bikini World (1967) eventually digressed, however, into utter fiascoes like Mars Needs Women (1967), in which he played a Martian, and Psycho à Go-Go (1967). Essentially he was washed up and now completely blacklisted by an industry that deemed "outed" gay actors "box office poison".

Tommy's life went into a seemingly irreversible tailspin. Depressed and angry, he sought solace in drugs and nearly died from an acute overdose at one point. For health reasons he felt the need to completely abandon his career and slowly moved himself forward as a recovering addict. He managed to put together a successful carpet and upholstery cleaning business which has run steadily for well over two decades.

After decades away, Tommy showed up again in Hollywood, glimpsed in a few dismissible low-budgeters here and there, including Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Billy Frankenstein (1998) and The Education of a Vampire (2001); however, as for a full-time commitment to acting,this is quite unlikely.